Appr 5 years ago we wrote about menopause in regards with the outcome of studies on the use of Hormonal replacement therapy, it is time to evaluate what happened in the meantime.
Menopause, or the permanent end of menstruation and fertility, is a natural biological process, not a medical illness. Even so, the physical and emotional symptoms of menopause can disrupt your life. Hormonal changes cause the physical symptoms of menopause, but mistaken beliefs about the menopausal transition are partly to blame for the emotional ones. First, menopause doesn’t mean the end is near — you’ve still got as much as half your life to go. Second, menopause will not snuff out your femininity and sexuality. In fact, you may be one of the many women who find it liberating to stop worrying about pregnancy and periods.
Most important, even though menopause is not an illness, you shouldn’t hesitate to get treatment if you’re having severe symptoms. Many treatments are available, from lifestyle adjustments to hormone therapy.
Signs and symptoms
Technically, you don’t actually “hit” menopause until it’s been one year since your final menstrual period. That happens about age 51, on average.
The signs and symptoms of menopause, however, often appear long before the one-year anniversary of your final period. They may include:
·Irregular periods
·Vaginal dryness and urinary complaints (appr 1/3 of women after 50)
·Hot flashes, (appr occurring appr. with 2/3 of women)
·Sleep disturbances
·Mood swings
·Increased abdominal fat
·Thinning hair
Causes
Menopause begins naturally when your ovaries start making less estrogen and progesterone, the hormones that regulate menstruation. The process gets under way in your late 30s. By that time, fewer potential eggs are ripening in your ovaries each month, and ovulation is less predictable. Also, the post-ovulation surge in progesterone — the hormone that prepares your body for pregnancy — becomes less dramatic. Your periods may become longer or shorter, heavier or lighter, and more or less frequent. Eventually, your ovaries shut down and you have no more periods. Unfortunately, there’s no way to know exactly which period will be your last. You have to wait until well after the fact — 12 months after, by official definition. Because this process takes place over years, menopause is commonly divided into the following two stages:
·Perimenopause. This is the time you begin experiencing menopausal signs and symptoms, even though you still menstruate. Your hormone levels rise and fall unevenly, and you may have hot flashes and other symptoms. Perimenopause may last four to five years or longer.
·Postmenopause. Once 12 months have passed since your last period, you’ve reached menopause. Your ovaries produce much less estrogen and no progesterone, and they don’t release eggs. The years that follow are called postmenopause.
Risk factors
Certain surgical or medical treatments or medical conditions can bring on menopause earlier. These include:
·Hysterectomy. A total hysterectomy that removes your uterus and your ovaries cause menopause, without any perimenopausal phase. Your periods stop immediately, and you’re likely to have hot flashes and other menopausal signs and symptoms.
·Chemotherapy and radiation therapy. These cancer therapies can induce menopause, causing symptoms such as hot flashes during the course of treatment or within three to six months.
Complications
Several chronic medical conditions tend to appear after menopause. By becoming aware of the following conditions, you can take steps to help reduce your risk:
·Cardiovascular disease. When your estrogen levels decline, your risk of cardiovascular disease increases. Yet you can do a great deal to reduce your risk of heart disease. These risk-reduction steps include stopping smoking, reducing high blood pressure, getting regular aerobic exercise, and eating a diet low in saturated fats and plentiful in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Hormone replacement to postmenopausal women proved not to be beneficial if taken for this reason.
·Osteoporosis. During the first few years after menopause, you may lose bone density at a rapid rate, increasing your risk of osteoporosis. Postmenopausal women are more susceptible to fractures of the hip, wrist and spine. That’s why it’s important during this time to get adequate calcium and vitamin D. It’s also important to exercise regularly. Strength training and weight-bearing activities such as walking and jogging are especially beneficial in keeping your bones strong.
·Urinary incontinence. As the tissues of your vagina and urethra lose their elasticity, you may experience a frequent, sudden, strong urge to urinate, followed by an involuntary loss of urine (urge incontinence), or the loss of urine with coughing, laughing or lifting (stress incontinence).
Weight gain. Many women gain weight during the menopausal transition. You can eat less perhaps as many as 200 to 400 fewer calories a day, and should exercise more, just to maintain your current weight.
The opposite is often happening!
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